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Monday, October 14, 2013

Redskins vs. Cowboys Game Recap

After last night’s 31-16 loss to
the despised Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Redskins have put themselves in a
situation where there are far more questions than answers coming out of
Landover, Maryland. At 1-4, the team is now 2.5 games out of first place in the
sub-par NFC East, and have an extremely daunting schedule upcoming. For the truest of Skins fans, last night was a confluence of emotions: flashes of brilliance combined with periods of recognizable ineptitude.

It has not been a secret that
Robert Griffin III is not 100%, however last night football fans got a glimpse of the
agile, explosive Heisman Trophy winner we remember from last season. The
defense, which has struggled all season, played rather admirably last night all
things considered. Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett and his troops allowed
only 18 completions and 170 yards to Tony Romo, who torched the undefeated
Broncos last week for over 500 yards and 5 touchdowns. Down field coverage was
rather impressive, but once again the tackling was sub-par and the red-zone
defense did not come through. Outside of those examples, it’s pretty tough
to point out any positives for the Redskins last night. Once again, the Skins
were unable to really get their running game going, as Alfred Morris was held
to 36 yards on 15 carries outside of his 45 yard touchdown run (where Chris Chester actually picked up a second level block). On that note,
the offensive line brought up more question marks then it had at any point last
year, allowing a defensive line full of guys off the street to pressure RG III
early and often. The interior linemen (especially the guards) were consistently
being pushed off the ball and into the backfield on stretch plays, effectively eliminating
the Shanahan’s main game plan.

When there were definitive passing
situations, the team struggled mightily as RG III was unable to handle the
pressure, step up in the pocket and throw crisp, accurate passes down the
middle of the field. On the other hand,
the Cowboys offensive line was able to hold off the vaunted outside pass rush
of edge rushers Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan. This allowed Tony Romo to
systematically work his way down the field when necessary and keep the Cowboys
an arm’s length away from the Skins at all times.

None of these things really mattered
when you consider the effect special teams had on the game. Going into Sunday
night, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said that he truly believed his team
had a definitive advantage on special teams, and boy did it show. Cowboys
return man Dwayne Harris might as well have won the game by himself, scoring on
a punt return and putting the Cowboys at the Redskins 15 yard line on a kick
return. These Redskins miscues only magnified other parts of their game that were struggling.

While there are some positives to
be taken from this game, the struggles of the offensive line and special teams
should be of serious concern for Redskins fans. Without a consistent running
game, Kyle Shanahan’s offense is not going to be able to work the ball
down field like it did last year. Mr. Griffin III has turned a corner physically, but his in-pocket passing is
extremely suspect at this time. Combine this with a sub-par defense and pathetic
special teams and it is extremely difficult to see the Skins winning more than
5 games this year. Stay tuned later this week for my next article regarding
whether or not the season is already in the books.

Analytical
& highly creative marketing & sport business MBA graduate with
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